


Stuffed Animals

by Caora



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M, baby au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-24
Updated: 2014-05-24
Packaged: 2018-01-26 07:30:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1679909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caora/pseuds/Caora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On paper, visiting the aquarium was a fantastic idea. Jack couldn’t quite remember the last time the six of them had gone on a family day trip, only that it had ended in tears. Now that the younger boys were a little bit older and arguably a little better behaved, he thought it was about time they had tried again.</p>
<p>(Loosely based on part 2 of the Octodad Lets Play)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stuffed Animals

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based on part 2 of the Octodad Lets Play.

On paper, visiting the aquarium was a fantastic idea. Jack couldn't quite remember the last time the six of them had gone on a family day trip, only that it had ended in tears. Now that the younger boys were a little bit older and arguably a little better behaved, he thought it was about time they had tried again.

He should have expected that almost immediately after arriving at the aquarium, their group would split into two. Ray and Ryan had each taken one of Geoff's hands and dragged him off to who knows where, his husband simply yelling to him that he promised they'd meet back up later. Jack was left with Michael and Gavin, whose faces were currently pressed up against a nearby fish tank. Shaking his head at the two boys, he gently told them off for getting too close to the glass, and began to lead them through the nearby tropical fish exhibit.

Even though he was admittedly a little annoyed that their supposed 'family' trip had fallen apart so quickly, Jack was determined not to let that stop him from having a good time.

Michael and Gavin were soon entranced by the brightly coloured fish that swam through the equally colourful tanks. The boys pointed and gestured at the various species they recognised from Finding Nemo, and Jack would smile to himself when he noticed how Gavin would hide behind Michael every time a shark would swim by. They dashed from tank to tank, hand in hand, with Jack slowly trailing after them. They'd spend but a few moments ogling the particular fish that caught their interest before hurrying onto the next tank at a pace slightly too quick for Jack's liking. 

In what seemed like no time at all, they soon found themselves at the end of the exhibit, and standing in front of an aquatic themed arcade. If Jack had known that was there, he would have tried to maneuver them in a different direction away from the tantalizing and cash sucking games before he could be dragged inside, but unfortunately for him and his wallet, his boys charged into the arcade before he had a chance to stop them. Later, if Geoff asked, he'd say he put up at least a small fight before he indulged them.

The upbeat music and loud beeps and whizzes hit him as soon as he stepped into the room, the familiar sounds of an arcade a welcome change from the quiet that seemed to drown the rest of the aquarium. Jack got Michael and Gavin a small tub of coins to share between them before taking a seat off to the side, but still somewhere where he could keep an eye on them. As they boys began to tackle their first game, Jack felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He couldn't help but laugh at the picture Geoff had sent him. Their other two boys had dragged him into the wing of the aquarium solely dedicated to kelp, and had convinced him to play a few of the educational games. The picture he sent was of something akin to a human sized hamster wheel, with the simple caption of 'Help me'.

Jack was in the middle of typing a reply when a stuffed sea bass was dropped onto his lap. He looked up in surprise and was met with two beaming faces. "Me and Gavvy won this for you on that game over there!" Michael explained proudly, pointing at a nearby arcade machine as Gavin nodded furiously beside him.

"Aww thank you, boys. That's very nice of you," Jack said gratefully, ruffling their hair in appreciation. Michael and Gavin grinned back at him again, before rushing off to play another game. 

Instead of the reply he was originally going to text Geoff, he sent him a picture of his newly acquired stuffed fish, making sure to emphasise the fact that their boys won it for  _him_ and not themselves, and how much fun they were having without him (so he was still a little bitter, sue him). Geoff's reply came a moment later, and his comment on how Jack would be the one to do the 'boring plant breeding shit' next time was enough to incite another chuckle.

A second stuffed animal was dropped on his lap, this time in the form of a snake. "Another one?" Jack asked, picking the prize up and examining it. "You two are on fire today!"

"The other fishy needed a friend!" Gavin said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He took a moment to pat the stuffed animal in question, before grabbing Michael's hand and dragging him off. "Come on, Michael! Dad needs more!"

"I don't really-..." Jack began, but quickly gave up when it was clear that neither of them were going to listen. Instead, he sighed and leaned back into his seat, deciding to keep a closer eye on them this time.

Michael and Gavin were quick to choose a game, one involving throwing plastic fish at stacked wooden cylinders. Gavin surprised him by knocking down a small stack with his first throw, but it seemed to be beginner's luck. After that, they both struggled to hit the small logs, only managing to knock down one at a time, if anything at all. They eventually managed to clear the lower shelves, but the top one was left untouched.

A loud bang to his left was enough to distract Jack for a moment, and when he turned back, Michael was giving Gavin a boost so he could climb onto the arcade machine. "MICHAEL! GAVIN!" he called out, quickly leaping up from his seat to jog towards them, and quickly lifted Gavin off the game before he had a chance to throw another fish. "You can't climb on the game like that! It's not allowed and it's cheating!"

"But Daaaaaad!" Michael whined, clenching his fists and stamping his foot. "The stupid logs on the top shelf are too high and we can't reach them!"

"That's no excuse!"

"But we wanted to win you a prize!"

"Can you please help us?" Gavin asked sweetly, giving him the best puppy dog eyes he could muster up, and Jack was absolutely positive that Gavin was well aware of how hard it was for him to say no when he looked at him like that. The only time he ever was this polite was when he wanted something.

"...Alright," he gave in with a sigh, and couldn't help but smile when the two boys cheered. "But only if you promise not to cheat on any of the other games, otherwise you'll both have to stay at home the next time we go on a family trip. Understand?"

As soon as they had both promised to behave and Jack was sure they were going to keep that promise, he adjusted his grip on Gavin so that he was now in a better position to throw the fish. He'd lower him so Michael could hand him the fish, and then raise Gavin again so he could toss them. With his greater height, he could now knock down the cylinders with ease and in no time at all, they had successfully knocked them all into the water.

Gavin cheered and squirmed in his arms until Jack put him down, but Michael was quick to replace him with another stuffed fish. "Are you boys sure you don't want to keep these for yourselves? Or maybe give some to Geoff, Ray, or Ryan?" he asked.

"Nope~! They're all for you!" Gavin beamed, but before he could ask them why they were so determined to win  _him_  so many prizes, they scampered off to win him another.

Jack could only watch in amazement as Gavin beat the claw machine on his first try, adding a stuffed alligator to his growing collection. He really didn't understand why they were both so insistent on winning him so many prizes, and part of him wondered if they even knew themselves. But, he supposed there could have been worse things for them to be so determined to do, and was content to stand back and let them have their fun.

(Though, he did have to wonder just when his boys got so good at playing games, as it certainly wasn't a trait they inherited from either him or Geoff (though Geoff would argue otherwise). Perhaps Ryan was to blame for that one.)

* * *

They left the arcade with no less than seven prizes, and Jack was given no choice but to carry them all. Predictably, Geoff burst out laughing when they met back up at the café later and spotted him trudging along with two armfuls of stuffed animals and two small children in tow. Just when his boisterous laughter began to subside into incessant giggles, Jack unceremoniously dropped all of the prizes onto the table and Geoff was off again. Jack could only roll his eyes at him as he slipped into the booth next to him, Michael and Gavin squeezing in next to Ray and Ryan on the opposite side.

"You three were busy," Geoff eventually managed to say, picking up the stuffed snake and examining it. "Did you leave any toys for the rest of the aquarium?"

"How was the kelp exhibit?" Jack fired back.

"Ugh don't fucking start. I swear those little shits were genuinely trying to kill me," Geoff groaned, triggering an almost evil laugh from Ryan in the corner, and a smile from Jack himself.

After that, everything seemed to fall back to normal and the little annoyance Jack still felt from their group splitting into two dissipated.

He chuckled to himself as Gavin gave all of the stuffed animals names (Jack, Geoff, Michael, Ray, Ryan, Gavin, and Spaffy Fob Gobbler), and smiled at Geoff's bitter disappointment that Gavin insisted the snake be named after him. Ryan's playful teasing of Michael about the little girl across the street who they apparently ran into earlier was a common occurrence, as were the annoyed looks from people at the nearby tables when Ray and Gavin sang the 'X-Ray and Vav' theme tune a little bit louder than necessary.

As the boys played with the stuffed animals and nibbled their fries, and as Geoff made kissing noises and poked his face with his stuffed animal counterpart, Jack decided that they'd try to go on family trips a lot more often (and swore that next time they were going to stay in one large group, even if he had to tightly grab Geoff's hand and not let go until they were ready to leave). 

 

 


End file.
